The Samsung Eco 2 OLED display helps the Galaxy Z Fold 3 use less power

Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority

• Samsung has announced a new smartphone display technology, the Eco 2 OLED.
• It’s being used on the just-announced Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 foldable phone.
• The new display will help reduce power usage on the phone, among other benefits.

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The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 was announced just a few days ago, but the next-generation foldable phone has even more new technology than we first thought. Today, Samsung Display announced that the phone is the first to use its new Eco 2 OLED technology, which offers several benefits for the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Eco stands for Efficient power Consumption + Eco-friendly Component, for those keeping score at home.

See also: The best foldable phones you can get

In a press release, Samsung Display stated that the Eco 2 OLED eliminates the need for a plastic polarizer layer. Normally, such a layer is used to help phones reflect external light. However, that same layer also reduces the transmittance rate of light from a phone by over 50%.

The new Eco 2 OLED display has what the company calls its own “innovative pixel structure.” This allows the display to improve its transmittance rate on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 by 33%. At the same time, because the phone doesn’t transmit as much light, its battery life is improved by up to 25% compared to using a normal OLED display.

Credit: Samsung

The new display technology also improves the performance of the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s 4MP under-display camera (UDC). Getting rid of the polarizer layer allows the UDC to be exposed to more light. The result is that such a camera can be put in a foldable phone so that, when not in use, owners of the phone can get a true full-screen media experience.

Finally, because the Eco 2 OLED display doesn’t have that plastic polarizer layer, phones that use the tech can cut down on their overall plastic use for a somewhat better phone in terms of its environmental impact.

Samsung says the Eco 2 OLED display has been patented in seven countries, including the US. It’s safe to say that we can expect more Samsung smartphones to use this display tech in the future.